


even the darkest night will end

by lesmiserablol



Series: fics where sokka has chronic pain [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Chronic Pain, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Post-Canon, Post-War, Sokka (Avatar) Needs a Hug, i know this to be true, sokka has chronic pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27103615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesmiserablol/pseuds/lesmiserablol
Summary: “Sokka, it was just a dream.”A hand, gentle but steady, reaches out to his arm and rests on his sweaty skin. The additional warmth isn’t uncomfortable, it’s familiar. It’s loving. The hand doesn’t pull at him or move, it just stays there, waiting for Sokka.(it's been seven years since the war ended, but Sokka still gets nightmares sometimes. luckily, his fiancé is there to help him through them)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: fics where sokka has chronic pain [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036362
Comments: 78
Kudos: 457





	even the darkest night will end

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I absolutely took the title from Les Mis. 
> 
> Hi everyone! I'm writing several things at the moment, including Zuko leaving the Fire Nation to live with Sokka in the SWT, but this came to me out of nowhere and I had to write it. So. Stay tuned for more. In the meantime, have this.

Sokka tries to breathe in, but the smoke surrounding him is getting thicker. The looming, thick clouds and dark edges of the war balloon look even more threatening against the sky that glows with an eerie red tinge. Maybe it is the anxiety making it hard to breathe, not the smoke. Either way, Sokka’s chest is tight and he feels frozen in place as he watches the ash fall from the sky like snow.

He wants to reach up to touch it, but he realizes that one hand is holding tightly onto the narrow platform below him, the only thing between him and the ground far, far below. The other hand is grabbing something - no, _someone_ \- tight. Even as he notices and tries to grip tighter, he feels their fingers slowly slipping from his grasp. He grunts in the effort to hold on, wanting to yell out to Toph, to tell her that they’ll be okay, because they’re always okay, things always work out. They’re the good guys, and they have to win, because if not…

It is still hard to breathe, and Sokka doesn't know how much longer they can wait for a miracle as Sokka’s arm muscles scream at him. He knows if he tries to move to look at Toph, or adjust his grip, she’ll fall immediately, so he’s stuck staring at the sky above them and wondering how he could’ve failed so spectacularly, what he could’ve done differently to avoid putting this little girl in danger like this. He should be the one about to fall to his death, not Toph, not _anyone_. He’s the warrior, he agreed to this fight long ago with every intention of taking down as many Fire Nation soldiers with him as possible whenever his end came.

And Toph? She had just experienced freedom for the first time, had finally found friends, had taught the Avatar how to earthbend and then turned around and invented a new form of bending that will disappear along with her. She deserves better. 

Sokka feels her hand slip out of his, and he tries to scream but the smoke is getting thicker and the sky darker and he still can't breathe and-

Sokka wakes up with a start, chest heaving, the sensation of the small hand sliding out of his still lingering. He sits up and presses his shaking palms against his eyes, closing them tightly. There is a pit in his stomach and his left leg is screaming with pain as if he was back on that ship with newly broken bones. 

His throat is tight, words like “I’m sorry” and “Don’t let go” on the tip of his tongue. He gulps the air, free of smoke, but it does nothing to help his lungs feel functional again.

It wasn’t real, he desperately tries to tell himself, but his brain is refusing to calm down, the alarm bells of his mind still going off, the image of the red sky burned in his memory. 

“Sokka.”

He hadn’t been able to see Toph’s face when she held onto his hand desperately, but he can imagine her expression. The disbelief, the sadness, maybe the disappointment in Sokka for another failed attempt to end the war. 

“Sokka.”

 _“It looks like this is the end,”_ he had told her. In that moment, he was really certain that he was about to die, side by side with this young girl who had trusted him to-

“Sokka, it was just a dream.”

A hand, gentle but steady, reaches out to his arm and rests on his sweaty skin. The additional warmth isn’t uncomfortable, it’s familiar. It’s loving. The hand doesn’t pull at him or move, it just stays there, waiting for Sokka. 

Sokka stays sitting up, one hand covering his face as he tries to calm down, his other moving behind him to reach for Zuko. Zuko immediately grabs on with both of his hands, his presence anchoring him to the present. He sits up as well and rubs gentle circles into Sokka’s wrist with his thumb. 

Zuko starts counting aloud, going from one to four, then counts back to one, and Sokka times his breathing with it. He moves the hand from his face to rub at his left leg. It had started to ache earlier that evening, but after his dream it’s burning with pain. 

He takes a few more shuddering breaths, then gently tugs on Zuko’s hands. Zuko immediately moves closer and lets go of his hand to wrap his arms around Sokka’s shoulders, pulling him close to his side, turning his head to kiss Sokka’s hair. 

“You’re okay. You’re safe. You’re here with me,” he mumbles softly, and Sokka grabs onto Zukos forearm and holds him tightly. 

“Thank you,” Sokka says softly. His heart has started to calm down, but his mind is still racing. 

Zuko hums and Sokka feels the vibrations of it. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Sokka shakes his head. “No, it’s...I’m fine. You should go to sleep.”

“Stop that,” Zuko reprimands, but his tone is soft. “You’re always taking care of other people, especially me. Let me take care of you.”

Sokka feels a lump in his throat. He almost couldn’t take care of Toph...

Zuko seems to pick up on his silence. “Hey,” he says, arms squeezing just slightly tighter. “Talk to me. I’m here.”

Sokka eventually nods and starts to lie back down on his back, stretching out his left leg, and he turns his head to watch as Zuko lies down on his side so that they are facing one another. They clasp their hands together in the space on the bed between them. 

“It was the day of Sozin’s Comet,” he starts quietly, “And Toph, she...I couldn’t...I felt her hand slip out of mine and I just knew she was going to fall, and there was nothing I could do about it.”

Zuko nods. “And that’s when you woke up?”

“Yeah.”

“That sounds awful,” Zuko sighs. “But you’re okay, and Toph is okay, and we even get to see her in two days.”

“You’re right.” Sokka falls silent, squeezing his eyes tight against the frustration and embarrassment threatening to spill out of him in the form of tears. “I don’t know why I’m still dreaming about this, it’s been seven years.”

“Hey.” Zuko gives his hand a squeeze. “You were in the midst of the climax of a century old war. It was a lot to happen to anyone, especially a teenager, of course you’re going to still think about it. It’s not something you can just forget.”

Sokka is unsuccessful in holding back a sob, and Zuko is again rubbing comforting circles into his skin. “Sometimes I wish I could forget,” he eventually says. 

“I know you do, and I do too,” Zuko admits, “But we can’t do anything about that. We have to leave it in the past and look forward to the future.”

Sokka knows he’s right, and he’s grateful for the reminder. “It’s just hard sometimes,” he mumbles, his tears already gone and replaced with a feeling of emotional exhaustion. 

“You’re right. But start small. Think of some things that you’re looking forward to soon,” Zuko suggests. 

Sokka meets his eyes in the darkness, thinking. Zuko patiently holds his gaze. 

“Well, of course I’m excited to go back home next week. Visiting your uncle is always great, but I sleep so much better when we’re huddled together under some blankets,” he answers. 

Zuko smiles. “I’m excited to go back home, too.” Hearing Zuko call the Southern Water Tribe his home always makes something in Sokka’s chest warm. He had moved there two years ago, not long after officially abolishing the Fire Nation monarchy, but Sokka will never tire of hearing it. 

“What else?” Zuko asks. 

“I’m excited to beat Iroh at Pai Sho tomorrow,” Sokka says. 

Zuko chuckles. “Are you that confident in your abilities?”

“Are you not? Ouch, my own fiancé…” Sokka smirks. “Speaking of, I’m definitely excited for our wedding.”

“So am I.” Zuko pulls one of Sokka’s hands toward his lips and kisses his knuckles. “I’ve been looking forward to that for a long time.”

"We've only been engaged for a week."

"I know what I said."

Sokka thinks of Zuko’s reaction when he presented him with the betrothal necklace that he had spent weeks on perfecting. The wide eyes, the eager smile, and the way that Zuko threw himself at Sokka only to pull back and start peppering his face with kisses in between exclamations of “Yes, of course, I’ll marry you, I love you.” 

They made the trip to Ba Sing Se to tell Iroh in person before going to share the news with some of their other friends, and Sokka thinks he could listen to Zuko say, “Sokka and I are going to get married” a thousand times and still feel like he’s the luckiest guy in the world. 

“You still sure you want to marry me?” Sokka teases. 

“Positive,” Zuko answers immediately, painfully sincere, and Sokka leans forward to give him a kiss on his cheek. 

“Good. Because I definitely want to marry you,” he says, enjoying the smile that lights up Zuko’s face at these words. 

“How did I get so lucky?” he whispers. 

“I could ask the same thing.” Sokka takes a deep breath, nudging Zuko’s legs with his right foot. “Hey. Thanks for calming me down.”

“Absolutely. Do you want to try going back to sleep?”

Sokka nods, yawning. “I think so, yeah.”

“Do you want a hot towel? For your leg?”

The pain is more dull than it had been a few minutes ago, but it is definitely still bothering him, and he doesn’t think he’ll be able to fall asleep without doing anything for it. 

Sensing his moment of hesitation, Zuko jumps out of bed and disappears into the bathroom, returning a few moments later with a steaming towel in his hands and laying it on Sokka’s leg for him. Sokka inhales sharply as the heat makes contact with his leg, but he feels it begin to calm the pain and relax his muscles and he smiles as he looks back up at Zuko, the love of his life and also a portable heating device extraordinaire. 

“Have I ever told you how grateful I am that you’re so hot?” he asks with a smirk. 

“You didn’t seem grateful last night when you were complaining I was making the bed too warm,” Zuko reminds him. 

“Again, it’s much better to sleep at home than it is up here,” Sokka says, reaching his hand out to pull his fiancé close to him as soon as he’s in the bed. “But the important thing is that you’re here with me. No matter where we are, I’m happy knowing that.”

“I’m happy, too,” Zuko says softly. He curls in close, resting his head on Sokka’s chest right over his heart and wrapping an arm around his waist. Sokka pulls him in even tighter with his own arm, a smile on his face. 

“Goodnight, babe,” he whispers. 

“Goodnight, my love.”

**Author's Note:**

> comments are a writer's best friend <3
> 
> [tumblr](http://www.bisexuallsokka.tumblr.com)


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